This is the best reference i've found about stripping minis; We have the great advantage that our minis are metal, and therefore resist using even harsher things (like pure acetone), but as the test showed there's no need, Simple Green alone might do it and there's alternatives if that's not enough.
My procedure is I'll soak them in a mason jar of MEK for a couple days, then on a nice day I'll take everything outside and scrub with a toothbrush. When you're scrubbing, keep a clean cup of MEK off to the side, and dip your toothbrush in that to give it a little extra cleaning horsepower. Two rounds (normally one) of that and a brass brush will have those models looking brand spanking new.
@jherazob thank you for the link. The video was surprisingly watchable and informative. @helsbecter I did a similar thing as you can see below. But I am not sure what MEK is. Soooooo two lessons learned with this process. First, I purchased the regular simple green rather than the concentrated version. The concentrated version is better and as the great video @jherazob shared showed it is quite effective. The second is that the models do need some aftercare. I needed to get a pic tool to scrape away the paint from the crevices. Thankfully it only took the time to brew a cup of coffee to brush off the paint and about an hour to dig out the remaining paint. They are not pristine but certainly enough to start from. Before pic tool After pic tool Till next time. -AA
MEK = methyl ethyl ketone also known as methyl ethyl death . Be very careful using it because stuff is not very healthy.
Some sculpting or dental care tool would work. You know those metal things that the dentist uses to scrape your teeth during an appointment? That is the type of tool you should get for this type of work. Plus it doubles as a hobby sculpting tool as well. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sculptin...n+tools,arts-crafts,1286&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_15 https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...ting+tools.TRS0&_nkw=sculpting+tools&_sacat=0
Understatement of the decade. Stuff will take the round right out of a bowling ball! It will evaporate at skin temperature. Worse, it is skin-absorbed, and so fast that the puddle you just watch evaporate off your palm is now detectable in your breath. Don't wear latex gloves, you need nitrile gloves for that nastiness (using latex gloves with MEK is a great way to give yourself a latex allergy!). And even working with it outside, you still need to be wearing a VOC-rated paint respirator.
Yep, it's a nice channel, that's my favorite vid of his but he has done other pretty good ones, like the one on plastic glues and the other one on inks. And i'm glad the Simple Green alone worked for you It actually IS that bad, do NOT use MEK without industrial level safety gear, or better yet, STOP FREAKING USING IT as there's a truckload of safer alternatives, Future You will thank you
Do you know European versions? Ethanol, isopropanol and ammonia are easy (pharmacy or drugstore). But the cleaners... I noticed a local drain cleaner listing sodium hydroxide (lye), but with other things (sodium hypochlorite/bleach)... and it would need thinning, or maybe the gel formula helps. Also he tried plastic only, not metals (in which he could demo acetone) or resins.
Thanks! I have sculpting tools for clay but no dental tools. I feel like that would be much better than what I was using. Thank you for the links. Super scary actually. I did not even think about skin exposure. The helpful video provided by @jherazob has two caustic options but with the success of base simple green and it’s relative mildness I will bump up to concentrated and use nitrile gloves. I have to admire the nitriles make me feel super cool even if it is just using a toothbrush on pewter. I got more work done! But none on the leather. Instead I worked on the green and greys. I also added some sweet tricolor for the French representation. Need to clean up some splash over but happy with the uniformity. Check them out! I also assembled and primed the Loup-Garous. Though I will spare you and uninteresting white primer shot. Best to debut with at least some paint on them. Till next time. -AA
There's two threads about stripping here and here If you have to strip minis on a regular base (or a big enough number of them to strip), you may invest in a sonic cleaning machine (you can find some from 20 bucks on the interweb). It really helps to speed up the process and get rid of recesses bits. Beside stripping, I use it to clean the airbrush too.
I broke down and spent more money, now i have an ultrasonic cleaner (was on sale on Aldi, should also help with the airbrush once i'm into one), and bought a bottle of the new Green Stuff World paint remover, considering how infrequently i do this and the fact that you can reuse it, a single 240ml bottle might be enough for me. Next time i need to strip minis i'm going to first try the cleaner with some alcohol or something like that, and if that fails i'll try the GSW thing.
I'll second Golem, I bought a cheap set from Harbor Freight (US cheap tool supply store) and had no idea if I'd ever use them for anything. Then, while cleaning models I remembered I had them and there was literally a dental tool of every curvature, angle, and even a straight one. They do definitely help to get the stuff built into those crevices. Will also recommend a Sonic cleaner. Stuff works amazingly when paired with Super Clean. Strips models like nothing. Be wary of trying to strip models you've previously stripped and neglected. It's not that good. I have a bunch of Morats that sat around and are stained/gummed up from just them soaking all the time and not acting on them. Learn from my mistakes!!!
Some paints stain (like dyes), changing the shade of metal (or plastic), that is normal. Different thing if there is something still attached to the surface, which can affect detail. For sonic cleaners, use double bath, thing in pot with the cleaner liquid, then pot in water in the machine. Less waste and also safer.
I will certainly consider the sonic cleaner. I don’t often buy used models in need of stripping, but I will certainly be using the airbrush much more. Tonight is game night! Here is the list I plan to take. https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logo_303.svg[/imglogoarmy][b] Acquisition [/b] ────────────────────────────────────────────────── GROUP 1[/URL][/URL]10[/URL] https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_4.svg[/imglogoarmy] ZOUAVE (Sapper) Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_4.svg[/imglogoarmy] ZOUAVE (Sapper) HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 30) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_4.svg[/imglogoarmy] ZOUAVE (Forward Observer) Rifle, D.E.P. / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 21) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_5.svg[/imglogoarmy] BRISCARD (Fireteam: Haris) Marksman Rifle / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 25) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_5.svg[/imglogoarmy] BRISCARD Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 25) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_5.svg[/imglogoarmy] BRISCARD (Forward Observer) Marksman Rifle / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_2.svg[/imglogoarmy] PARA-COMMANDO HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 31) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_2.svg[/imglogoarmy] PARA-COMMANDO (Forward Observer) Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_6.svg[/imglogoarmy] MOBLOT Boarding Shotgun, Panzerfaust / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 23) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_7.svg[/imglogoarmy] CHASSEUR Rifle, Adhesive Launcher, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 19) GROUP 2[/URL][/URL]5[/URL] https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_1.svg[/imglogoarmy] MÉTRO HMG / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 19) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_1.svg[/imglogoarmy] MÉTRO Lieutenant Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 8) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_1.svg[/imglogoarmy] MÉTRO Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 8) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_1.svg[/imglogoarmy] MÉTRO Paramedic (Medikit) Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) https://assets.infinitythegame.net/infinityarmy/img/logos/logos_303/logo_1.svg[/imglogoarmy] MÉTRO Paramedic (Medikit) Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 10) 6 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;">" style="height:14px;"> I would appreciate your thoughts. -AA
@AlbtheA Seems like it is worth a shot. Though I'm more interested in how the list performed in this game of yours.
Sorry for the lag in posts, but I have a bunch to share. First I won my game! This is my first victory with MRRF and after only 4 games with the sectorial too. The scenario was Acquisition and I brought the list posted above. I decided to deploy the Zouaves covering two objectives and the metro Fireteam on the other flank. The Briscard Haris team up the middle. This was a seriously bloody game with only 10 models combined surviving from both sides. My opponent played a Yu Jing limited insertion list. Deployment: I decided to go second to get ARO’s with my Zouave sapper sniper and he did down an a couple models but took a doctor rifle shot to the dome. The Fireteam on the other side was wasted by a HI Yu Jing model with a multi rifle putting me in Loss of Lieutenant right away. When the HI ducked into a building he took a wound from a camo’d Chasseur and was later shot down by the Briscard Fireteam. The Briscards hunkered down for a bit but exchanged marksman rifle in the center. A Zouave came around the hard left flank killing a downed Yu Jing HI and revealed a Camo’d model that laid a mine and took an assault pistol to the face. In the end the Zouave dove the mine while shooting another Yu Jing specialist for a trade. I won the game due to lots of crits, a showdown between a Hac Tao and a Para-Commando HMG at long range and a lucky shot from the FO Para-Commando into a TO Camo’d ninja. The FO went on to secure activate objectives and was my data tracker and Liason officer. So lots of OP points in one basket. I learned a lot this game and really come to appreciate the power of the Chasseur, needless to say I put in and order for another one. I also stripped 4 more models, the aguacile hacker, 112 Doctor, a metro rifle and a veteran Kazak with HMG. The Kazak is going to be converted to look like a Moblot with HMG standing so that my sapper model has a S2 model to represent it she is darting between sapper positions. The models are stripped now, but conversion pics in the next update. I missed a local ITS tourney but will hopefully make it for future ones. Till next time -AA
@AlbtheA Congrats on your first win with MRRF & Infinity in general. Chasseurs are indeed great. Which model did you order? The new sculpt or an old oop sculpt? Sounds like a good idea. I'm curious to see how the newer Vet Kazak HMG compares to the other MRRF models or did you end up finding the older Vet Kazak HMG?
@Golem2God I ordered the new sculpt with the pistol out and underslung Rifle. The OOP sculpt comes in the Ariadna OOP starter which I eventually plan to buy but not yet. I picked up the old vet kazak HMG with the pointed finger. I have cleaned the model and cut away extra bits but have yet to start sculpting.